“The apartment was in total estate condition,” recalls Simon Babin, Studio Director at BUILTIN Studio. Tucked high within an Art Deco building on Fifth Avenue, the Upper East Side apartment had a functional layout and fantastic views of Central Park. But the interior views? Well, those hadn’t been renovated since the building was constructed in 1948.
That’s not a premise BUILTIN finds terribly intimidating. The NYC architecture and interior design practice, founded by Gary Eisner and Terence Kinee, has a knack for updating outdated apartments. They knew a few simple changes — and plenty of glamorous touches — could transform the space into a modern home that matched the homeowners’ new lifestyle.
